Virtual 'cubing': being in an office without being in one!

Occasionally, one comes across an idea so simple that you go 'duh.' I found one such best practice that I find so simple, powerful, and purposeful that it could have only come from (not consultants or experts) the employees themselves. 

The world over, organizations are in a dilemma: To bring back employees to an office or not. Some leaders would like to do so, feeling that they are not getting the most from their employees while working from home. Some employees would like to do so, more than anything else, out of the realization that sometimes you need the comfort of your family, but at other times, you also need the comfort of your colleagues! Some worry about the risks involved in working from an office, and at other times, worry about the extra costs (cleaning, sanitizing, masks, social distancing all add up) to already red budget lines. Yet, the need is there. An office helps employees connect, collaborate, and coordinate plus support, socialize and sympathize where required.

One organization asked its employees on how to solve this problem. Their brilliant idea? 

Virtual cubing!

Every day, they will all simultaneously work virtually together for 2 hours with their cameras on, just like they would in the office. For these two hours, they are in their 'office cubes,' albeit virtually. If they need to work quietly, they will mute themselves. If they needed to collaborate, they will chat or go over to breakout rooms, conduct their business, and return. They will share their screens, take a break, crack jokes, even quarrel like in an office. Sometimes they love the noise, and sometimes they love the quiet. Over the few months they have been at it, they have evolved on making the initiative even more useful. Here are a few tweaks:

a) Everybody has a virtual background. This way, no one need be embarrassed about where they are working from- the kitchen table, the bed, or even the bathroom.

b) The virtual background itself could be an interpretation. For instance, it could be the image of the actual cubicle or room in the office, or it could represent their mood (blue or green for happy, black or red otherwise, and so on), or celebration of an individual or collective event- Thanksgiving, Diwali, birthdays and so on.

c) The two hours could itself be designed purposefully. The opening 10 minutes could be a catch-up and update; the 2 hours may roll over into a joint lunch with everyone just conversing, or it could be even bringing members of the family on to zoom so that everyone can see each other and their families. 

d) The critical aspect of the virtual cubing is that it is not set up for formal purposes. If there is a need, say for a meeting, one is organized separately. It is about presence, not a purpose. It evokes a feeling that the team is there for each other and creates community, albeit virtually. Everyone is committed to having the camera on so that they can see each other at all times. Most of the groups choose mid-morning to work in virtual cubicles and go on till lunchtimes. More disbursed groups set up their convenient times, accommodating different time zones. Members that belong to multiple groups may switch days when they would attend a specific group meeting. Still, partial times (spending one hour in one group and another hour in another group) are avoided since the time spent together is brief anyway. Also avoided are private chats as some team members learned the hard way that the 'chats' have a way of finding itself into the mainstream. Anything 'private' or sensitive could be recorded and could come back to haunt an employee!

Team members feel that the virtual cubicle, though not a complete substitute to a physical office setting, has reconnected the team and reinforced a shared context and accountability. 

Does this best practice resonate with you? Is it something you are doing as well?